Image Collection German Air Force
A black and white aerial photomap of a town surrounded by an irregular grid of black and white fields. The photomap is annotated with place names – including Stargard, the name of the town – and is overlaid with numbered map grid squares.

The Polish town of Stargard, just a year before the German invasion
Collection: German Air Force, Sortie: GXM/JARIC, Frame: 4574 (1 May 1938)

German Air Force

The German Air Force (GX) Collection contains aerial reconnaissance photographs taken by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. As the war ended in Europe, collections of this material were found across Europe by American, British and Soviet forces. The German Air Force material would go on to be used for intelligence purposes throughout the Cold War.

A black and white aerial photomap of a small settlement in a snowy landscape. A river runs diagonally across the image, which is annotated with letters and an arrow marked ‘N’ for north pointing up. German text runs along the right edge.
Nivskii in the north of Russia, before the German invasion of the Soviet Union; Collection: German Air Force, Sortie: GXTM/MISC, Frame: 6757 (28 March 1941)

History

Like most belligerents during the Second World War, Germany undertook aerial reconnaissance to support its military operations. However, for several reasons this never reached the extent or sophistication of Allied efforts. German aerial reconnaissance was hampered by being decentralised, while the photographic interpreters were poorly trained. They also generally disregarded the use of stereoscopes to view images in 3D which made their interpretation less effective.

As the war ended, the British and Americans discovered masses of German aerial reconnaissance photographs, maps, target dossiers and photomosaics hidden in several locations. Project TURBAN was the code-name for the handling of all the material found. Much material came from Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, Germany and was code-named DICK TRACY, while other large collections were found in Vienna (ORWELL), Oslo (MONTHLY) and Berlin (TENANT).

A black and white aerial photomap of a city, with a large amount of text in German to the right. The city has densely packed blocks of buildings. Some are marked with dotted lines and numbers, including a triangular area at the bottom marked ‘3011’.
The Kremlin (marked 3011), photographed during a pause in the Battle for Moscow; Collection: German Air Force, Sortie: GXTM/MISC, Frame: 6752 (06 November 1941)

In June 1945, the material was packaged in crates and flown back to the Allied Central Interpretation Unit (ACIU) at Royal Air Force (RAF) Medmenham, and a joint UK-US sorting and exploitation project began. As the project developed, all the imagery became known as 'GX'. GX was such a large quantity of material that preliminary sorting work continued until 1949. This body of imagery provided the western Allies with intelligence on large parts of eastern Europe and the Soviet Union on a scale unachievable until the advent of reconnaissance satellites in the 1960s.

Until then, much British and American target data consisted of predicted radar imagery of targets derived from GX images. As a joint asset, the imagery was duplicated and shared between the UK and USA. The UK element is cared for by the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP), while the American holdings reside at the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Both NCAP and NARA-held GX imagery is available on the NCAP website.

A black and white aerial photomap of a large river, with banks visible at the top and bottom of the image. The image is annotated with lines and numbers, and there is a block of German text at the bottom right corner.
The Oder River, occupied by Soviet forces to the east and German to the west; Collection: German Air Force, Sortie: GXM/JARIC, Frame: 14019 (11 March 1945)

Acquisition

Following capture, GX aerial photography and photomosaics were transferred for cataloguing to RAF Medmenham. The imagery was subsequently relocated to RAF Brampton, Cambridgeshire, as part of the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC) Collection. The aerial imagery was declassified in the early 1990s and released to Keele University in its capacity as an official Place of Deposit, where it joined the ACIU Collection. In 2008, both collections were transferred to the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) and became part of the new National Collection of Aerial Photography.

A black and white aerial photomap of fields. A road runs horizontally along the top edge, with ruined buildings alongside it. There are annotations across the image, German text along the bottom and the word ‘Brückenauswertung’ across the middle.
German defences on the Oder's west bank, including anti-aircraft gun positions; Collection: German Air Force, Sortie: GXM/JARIC, Frame: 14682 (08 April 1945)

Scope

The Collection was compiled between 1939 and 1945 and covers 42 countries across Europe, including numerous territories in Central and Eastern Europe such as the Balkans, the Baltic States, Ukraine, and Russia.

Geographical coverage
Albania Greece North Macedonia
Austria Guernsey Norway
Belarus Hungary Poland
Belgium Iceland Romania
Bosnia and Herzegovina Italy Russia
Bulgaria Jersey San Marino
Croatia Latvia Serbia
Czech Republic Liechtenstein Slovakia
Denmark Lithuania Slovenia
Estonia Luxembourg Sweden
Finland Moldova Switzerland
France Monaco Turkey
Georgia Montenegro Ukraine
Germany Netherlands Vatican City

Collection Contents

The Collection is made up of:

  • c.1.5 million aerial photographs on diapositive aerial film, large-format negatives and paper prints
  • associated paper sortie plots
  • large-format photo mosaics and annotated target graphics

Air Photo Finder

A small amount of this Collection has been digitised and is available to view on the Air Photo Finder. Uncatalogued imagery is not currently accessible.

Subscriptions

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ArchivesSpace

Visit ArchivesSpace to learn about the Collection hierarchy. 

Air Photo Finder  Subscriptions  ArchivesSpace - external 

IN THIS SECTION

A black and white aerial photo of about a dozen ships pulled up on a beach. The land beyond the beach has been divided up into a grid, and the scene is slightly obscured by clouds or smoke.

Allied Central Interpretation Unit

The ACIU Collection is home to 5.5 million photographic reconnaissance images taken during the Second World War, providing a visual record of occupied Western Europe.

A colour aerial photo of the Wimbledon area in London. Streets of houses are visible at the right and left edges. A golf course with bunkers and trees occupies the middle. To the left of centre are about 20 tennis courts and a tennis stadium.

British Aerial Survey Firms

NCAP has extensive holdings of photography taken by several important British aerial survey companies over a period of 50 years.

A black and white aerial photo of a city on the edge of the sea. There are buildings and an industrial area in the centre and fields to the right. The photo has been marked with purple pencil highlighting blocks of buildings.

Defence Geographic Centre

The DGC Collection contains aerial photographs of locations around the world, originally used to create maps for issue to British and Commonwealth forces.

A black and white aerial photo of a city. The streets are arranged in a grid. There is a coastline to the right with an area of dark sea at the right-hand edge. To the left are two meandering watercourses and an area of undeveloped wetland.

Directorate of Overseas Surveys

The DOS Collection provides a unique historical perspective, recording the changing landscapes of much of the Commonwealth throughout the 20th century.

A black and white aerial photo of coastal wetlands. The image has the appearance of abstract swirls and patterns in shades of black, white and grey. There seem to be a few trees in the centre and an area of water to the left.

Environment Agency

The EA Collection is a valuable record of the quickly changing coastal landscapes of the south-east of England, from Bournemouth round to Gravesend.

An oblique black and white aerial photo of a city with a coastline. The sea is at the bottom left corner. A small number of ships are on the water. The city is made up of what appears to be low-rise apartment blocks. There is a park in the centre.

Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre

The JARIC Collection holds millions of Cold War reconnaissance images and forms unique record of British interests and activities.

A black and white aerial photo of 17 planes at an airfield. The planes are all situated in bays off two tracks running vertically through the image – one light-coloured and one dark. The planes and tracks are surrounded by featureless fields.

Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing

The MAPRW Collection contains c.150,000 aerial photographs taken during WWII by Allied units operating from North Africa and Italy.

A colour aerial photo with a park containing trees and red paths at the left, and Buckingham Palace in the bottom left corner. The River Thames is to the right with the London Eye lying flat over it. The shadow of Big Ben is to the right of centre.

Millennium Mapping

NCAP is home to the Getmapping and UK Perspectives Collections, two parallel projects to create a visual record of the UK at the turn of the millennium.

A black and white oblique aerial photo of an airborne plane from side-on. The plane has one propellor and a see-through cockpit with the pilot visible. There is a rear-facing gun turret, and the fuselage is marked with an American star and ‘312’.

National Archives and Records Administration

The NARA Collection contains worldwide imagery digitised as part of a partnership with the United States National Archives and Records Administration.

A colour aerial photo of the sea, very dark blue to the left and white from the glare of the sun on the right. In the middle a thin peninsula covered in brown grass extends into the sea. It has white cliffs and ends in a series of individual stacks.

Natural Environment Research Council

The NERC Collection contains over 27,300 aerial photographs taken around Europe for research purposes on behalf of the British Geological Survey.

A colour aerial photo of islands surrounded by a deep blue sea. There is one big island left of centre and a small one to the right. The islands have green grass and a mix of rocky and sandy shores. The sea is light blue over the sand.

Scottish Office Air Photographs Unit

The Scottish Office APU Collection provides a remarkable, 100-year record of Scotland’s changing landscapes from 1.5 million aerial photos of Scotland.